This article reviews a documentary illustrating
the degradation of the Great Barrier Reef. It is an important document
because tourists could see all along the degradation of this vast coral
reef, while scientists did not. It gives important support to the content
of the Seafriends web site, where degradation from erosion of the land,
is considered our number one coastal threat, reason for a very large section
on soil and erosion. Even now, Australian scientists and community leaders
are groping in the dark as to what to do. They fail to acknowledge climate
change bringing heavier downpours than ever before. They also fail to acknowledge
the link between pollution and Crown of Thorns starfish outbreaks, and
coral bleaching. Read this article with care, and read between the lines.
- Floor Anthoni

They wear floppy white hats to guard against the sun and point video
recorders to document one of the wonders of the modern world. But after
10 minutes of peering through the blurry floor of a glass-bottomed boat,
interest is starting to wane; a couple of the Japanese are starting to
nod off. The Great Barrier Reef may be one of Australia's prime tourist
attractions but scientists fear the colourful coral is dying from a combination
of tourism, commercial and recreational fishing, shipping, global warming
and, surprisingly, sugar cane farming.

The Great Barrier Reef extends for more than 2000km, covering 350,000sq
km - about the same size as Great Britain. It is home to 400 species of
coral and 1500 types of fish, from tiddlers to the great white shark. It
is the only living organism to be seen from the moon and is protected as
a world heritage area. But, increasingly, tourists trying to catch a glimpse
of the coral and sea life are let down after tour guides pump up the attraction.
They peer through the glass to see some of the 1500 types of fish or anything
to match the superlative buildup. Instead, they see a bed of rocky rubble,
seaweed and the occasional fish. It resembles a graveyard and the tourists
are confused. Where is the coral they've read and heard so much about?

If this is the Great Barrier Reef - which attracts a staggering 5000
tourists a day and generates an industry worth A$2 billion ($2.28 billion)
a year - then either the guides and the brochures are lying or something
is desperately wrong. German-born reef ecologist Dr Katharina Fabricius,
of the Australian Institute of Marine Science in Townsville, says coral
reefs are under threat worldwide and the Great Barrier Reef is no exception.
Some scientists believe that by 2030 half the reef will be gone.

Blame is attributed to various factors. River pollution, caused by the
excessive use of farm chemicals, is grabbing current attention. The pollution
damages coral reefs close to the coastline. Areas considered most at risk
include those near the popular tourist destinations such as the Whitsundays
and Dunk, Fitzroy and the Frankland islands near Cairns.

"We're dealing with nutrients, sediments, pesticides, herbicides and
heavy metals," says Fabricius in Sally Ingleton's documentary Muddy
Waters: Life and Death on the Great Barrier Reef. Fabricius spends
several hours a day collecting data at various sites. Since 2000 she has
monitored the survival and growth rates of more than 200 young corals.
More than half of her corals have died in the last six months. Inshore
reefs should contain up to 150 species of coral, but now she struggles
to find 50.

Like many North Queensland towns, Tully was built on the sugar cane
dollar. In the 1940s farmers were given land on condition it was cleared
for agriculture. But clearing ground was not enough, says Ingleton. They
also had to make sure water was siphoned off from the wetlands to prevent
the cane rotting. A network of drains was the solution, but the drains
reverse the natural cycle of how a wetland is meant to function. Wetlands
filter the water but the drains hasten the process, dragging any loose
topsoil, fertiliser and other chemicals out to sea in a muddy flood plume.
As soon as any nutrient from the rivers enters the marine environment it
changes into sticky balls of mud and suffocates the coral.

Fabricius urges more farmers to follow the lead of farmer Ross Digman,
who has built lagoons to catch the run off on his low-lying areas. To halt
erosion, he has planted trees and dumped tonnes of rock to stabilise the
river bank on his farm. "Farmers know they must address the legacy of past
mistakes and make moves towards managing their land in a more sustainable
way," Fabricius says.

In response to the documentary, the Queensland and Federal Governments
have announced a joint plan for protecting the reef. Federal Environment
Minister David Kemp said important areas of the reef were in danger unless
something was done to make development on the land more sustainable. Queensland
Premier Peter Beattie said major agricultural developments such as feedlots
would need to have an environmental impact study under the draft plan.

The next audit of the reef would be in 2005, he said, and further action
might be taken to penalise industries that contributed to pollution. Fabricius
is not all doom and gloom because many of the remote sections of the reef
are still in good shape. "We have the economic resources to manage the
reef properly but it can't be done without managing the land - and that
means getting the sediments and nutrients out of the river plumes."